A few weeks ago Jorge De La Rosa was said to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from Tommy John elbow surgery, leading to speculation that he might return to game action sooner than expected, but the Rockies are still being cautious with his timetable.
Pitching coach Bob Apodaca told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that “our hope” is to have De La Rosa back in the rotation in July, which would be about 14 months after the surgery.
He’ll need to avoid setbacks in the meantime and Saunders reports that De La Rosa will throw multiple bullpen sessions during the next week and then advance to facing live hitters in batting practice.
“BP will probably come in the latter part of spring training,” Apodaca told Saunders. “He will get into ballgames in extended spring after that. I don’t think we are in a hurry. When it’s his time, he will get back to us.”
De La Rosa, who made 10 starts with a 3.51 ERA before being shut down last season, is under contract for $10 million this year.
